“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20–21, emphasis mine).
These verses are a small part of the priestly prayer in John chapter 17. Oneness was a very important thing in the heart of Jesus before going to the cross, and I believe it is still very important for us today. It is not a surprise that division among believers was and continues to be one of the biggest challenges we face.
I will take a few verses from the letters of Paul to the early churches, and we will see that he was dealing with the same issues that the Church is facing today. In his address to the church in Corinth, he uses the analogy of the Body of Christ and takes some very different parts of the human body to explain the oneness of the Body of Christ.
“For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:11–13)
Now, to make it more applicable to us today, instead of reading the names that Paul is using in these verses, we could use the names of our churches, all that claim to be under the headship of Jesus Christ. Are there divisions between different churches and denominations? So I think the letters to the Corinthian church are an essential message to the Church today.
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” (1 Corinthians 3:1–8)
This is a fundamental lesson, Paul is saying that division in the Body of Christ is a sign of walking in the flesh instead of walking as spiritual people. Babies can only receive milk because they are still in the process of growing and maturing, and Paul was addressing them as immature because of the jealousy and strife among them.
Later in the letter Paul actually uses the example of different parts of the human body and the importance of the differences and diversity of the Body of Christ. Paul was dealing with a church that was growing and peoples from various backgrounds and cultures were coming together, and he was emphasising the importance of learning to relate to and respect the differences. According to Paul, oneness will never be achieved by conformity, by every member being the same, but the Body of Christ will only reach the level of maturity that it is supposed to, by learning to walk in oneness within diversity.
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:13–27)
Again, read these verses not as something distant and a message only to the church in Corinth, but imagine it as a letter from Paul to the Church today. The Body of Christ is bigger than your house church, your church, your denomination. The Body of Christ includes all believers, and there is a great diversity among believers in their worship, expression, appearance, and function. Try to read the verses above and in place of each of the different parts of the human body, use the name of a church or denomination, protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Anglican, messianic, churchless people, or a different group that worships and believes differently than you, but are also believers in Jesus Christ and members of His Body.
Ephesians 2:14-18
Galatians 3:28-29
Colossians 3:9-17
Ephesians 4:1-7
The Body of Christ
